John Ford, who led Roswell to consecutive state finals and Buford to a pair of region titles, is a head coach again, and South Gwinnett has made Tucker coach Bryan Lamar its first choice, but that hire awaits board approval.

Those are some of the latest moves in a football offseason that has seen more than 50 openings, about one-third of which have been filled.

Ford’s career record is 61-17 with two region titles apiece at Roswell (2013-16) and Buford (2017-18). He was let go at Buford despite a 21-5 record a region titles in each season. He was Bleckley County’s defensive coordinator last season.

Effingham was 43-42 in eight seasons under Buddy Holder, who will take another job in the school system.

At South Gwinnett, Lamar would bring a career 83-29 record after nine seasons at Tucker, where he won four region titles and led the Tigers to two state finals. South Gwinnett was 5-5 last season, the Comets’ best finish since 2016. Lamar would replace Steve Davenport, who is retiring.

Here are reported openings with hires noted in bold.

Alexander - Former coach: Matt Combs.

Appling County - Former coach: Rick Tomberlin.

Arabia Mountain - Former coach: Stanley Pritchett.

Banneker - Former coach: Lou George.

Blessed Trinity - Former coach: Tim McFarlin.

Bradwell Institute - Former coach: Kyle Adkins.

Carrollton - Former coach: Sean Calhoun. New coach: Joey King

Central Talbotton - Former coach: Cedric Stegall.

Crawford County - Former coach: Jhon Smith. New coach: Craig Puckett

Crisp County - Former coach: Brad Harber.

Dalton - Former coach: Matt Land.

Eagles Landing - Former coach: Shawn Jones.

East Forsyth - Former coach: New school. New coach: Brian Allison

Effingham County - Former coach: Buddy Holder. New coach: John Ford

Fellowship Christian - Former coach: Al Morrell.

Gilmer - Former coach: Kevin Saunders. New coach: Paul Standard

Grovetown - Former coach: Damien Postell.

Hardaway - Former coach: Michael Woolridge.

Harrison - Former coach: Matt Dickmann. New coach: Josh Cassidy

Heard County - Former coach: Tim Barron. New coach: Shane Lasseter

Monticello - Former coach: Roderick Jackson.

Jenkins - Former coach: Gene Clemmons.

Jordan - Former coach: Joseph Kegler. New coach: Dale Overton

Lake Oconee Academy - Former coach: New Program.

Lamar County - Former coach: Jeff Sloan.

Landmark Christian - Former coach: Mike Sherrard.

Locust Grove - Former coach: Clint Satterfield.

Long County - Former coach: John Pollock.

Monroe - Former coach: Charles Truitt.

Morgan County - Former coach: Bill Malone.

Mount Pisgah Christian - Former coach: Mike Forester. New coach: Ryan Livezey

North Springs - Former coach: Scotty Parker.

Oglethorpe County - Former coach: Ronnie Harris.

Osborne - Former coach: Russell Isham. New coach: Luqman Salam

Pickens - Former coach: Jeff Nelson. New coach: Grant Myers

Portal - Former coach: Matt Smith.

Rockdale County - Former coach: Derek Coggin.

Savannah County Day - Former coach: Jim Collis. New coach: Tyler Ward

Seminole County - Former coach: Trey Woolf. New coach: Cedric Stegall

South Cobb - Former coach: Terry Jones.

South Forsyth - Former coach: Jeff Arnette. New coach: Troy Morris

South Gwinnett - Former coach: Steve Davenport.

St. Pius - Former coach: Paul Standard.

Stockbridge - Former coach: Steve Boyd. New coach: Thomas Clark

Tift County - Former coach: Ashley Anders.

Towers - Former coach: Vonnell Carter.

Union County - Former coach: Brian Allison.

Villa Rica - Former coach: Christian Hunnicutt. New coach: Tim Barron

Walker - Former coach: Aaron Dobbins. New coach: Gary Nelson

Westside - Former coach: Jon Wiley.

Woodland (Stockbridge) - Former coach: Bryan Bailey.

Woodstock - Former coach: Brent Budde.

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The city of Brookhaven's mayor and City Council last week decided to remove the colored panes of glass from the dome of Brookhaven's new City Centre after residents objected to the brightness of the colors, seen here Friday, June 27, 2025. (Reed Williams/AJC)

Credit: Reed Williams/AJC